Chapter 13 The Flame That Feels
The golden morning of Chandlok did not feel like a blessing.
It felt like the calm before something ancient stirred again.
Inside the royal palace, everything moved as it always had. Maids dusted tapestries, guards patrolled the corridors, nobles whispered in corners over morning wine…
But somewhere in those walls, two souls trembled with truth.
---
Sana stood in her chamber, her hand over her chest, feeling the quiet thud of her heartbeat—except it no longer felt human. It felt like thunder... waiting to strike.
> “You were born under starlight… Your flame is awakening.”
The voice from last night echoed in her mind like a song she didn’t know she had forgotten.
She turned toward the small mirror again.
But today, for the first time in years, she didn’t lower her gaze.
She didn’t feel like hiding.
She touched her veil gently, then let it stay.
> “Not yet,” she whispered. “But soon.”
---
Hatim sat in the garden under the shade of the Evergold tree, a book open in his lap, but unread.
His mind was still at the temple ruins.
Still with Sana.
The way she had looked back at him. The way the air around her shimmered even after she walked away.
> “I’ve always known you.”
He had said it. Without thinking.
It was true.
There was something in her that called out to something buried deep within him. Not just love, not just desire—something older.
A memory not yet lived.
---
Later that day, during council training, Hatim stood alone in the practice yard, holding a sword that he didn’t really feel like swinging.
One of the junior warriors approached.
“Your Highness, should I get you a sparring partner?”
“No,” Hatim muttered, eyes distant. “She already challenges me enough.”
The guard blinked. “Pardon?”
Hatim waved him away.
He raised the blade.
And with one single strike—it split the stone pillar nearby clean in two.
The sound echoed like a warning.
---
Meanwhile, Queen Roshni stood at her window, watching the yard.
A cold smile played on her lips.
> “He’s changing,” she murmured. “She’s doing this to him.”
She turned toward the scroll still lying open on her table. It was old, written in crimson ink.
It spoke of two immortals.
A flame that could purify kingdoms. A storm that could tear them apart.
> “She will burn,” Roshni whispered. “And if my son follows, so be it. But I will not watch this kingdom fall into her hands.”
Her grip on the edge of the scroll tightened.
And somewhere deep in the shadows of the palace… the priest began preparing the ritual altar.
---
That evening, Meher found Sana again in the garden.
“You need to leave tonight,” she said quickly. “The Queen—she’s planning something. The ritual’s moved. It’s going to happen before the full moon.”
Sana’s heart pounded. “What ritual?”
Meher hesitated. “She’s calling it a sealing... but they say it turns people into husks. That it can silence someone’s soul.”
Sana stared ahead.
Not afraid.
But furious.
> “No,” she said, standing. “Not this time.”
---
Just as the sun dipped beyond the hills, casting the skies in shades of violet and gold, Sana walked into the royal chamber—unannounced.
Gasps echoed.
Queen Roshni turned sharply. “How dare you—”
“I’m not here for your permission,” Sana said, voice firm, veil still in place.
Hatim stood from his seat. “Sana—”
But she didn’t look at him. Not yet.
She walked to the center of the room.
“I know you fear me. Because you fear what I am. And what I could be.”
She looked up, meeting Roshni’s gaze dead-on.
“But I won’t be hidden anymore.”
Roshni stepped forward, voice cold. “You don’t belong in this palace.”
> “And yet here I stand,” Sana replied. “What does that say about the palace?”
Hatim moved beside her. “What is she talking about?”
Sana turned to him slowly. Her voice softened.
“There’s something in me. A power. A flame.” She paused. “And I think… you have something too.”
Hatim blinked. “What?”
But before either could say more—a blast of wind burst through the windows.
Papers flew. Candles flickered violently. Everyone ducked.
And in the swirling wind… a voice spoke again.
> “The storm knows its flame. The veil thins. Let them rise.”
Then silence.
Everyone looked at Sana.
Everyone looked at Hatim.
And for the first time, even Queen Roshni seemed unsure.
---
That night, on the temple roof under moonlight, Hatim waited.
He knew she would come.
Sana arrived—silent, glowing faintly like moonlight trapped in skin. Her steps sure, her heart racing beneath her veil.
Hatim turned. “You weren’t afraid to face the Queen?”
“I’ve been afraid all my life,” she whispered. “It’s exhausting now.”
He took a slow step closer. “Then let me carry your fear. Even just for a moment.”
Sana's voice trembled. “You don’t even know who I really am.”
“I don’t care,” he said. “I know who you are to me.”
A pause.
Then softly, he asked, “Will you let me hold you?”
Sana nodded once, barely.
The moon hung heavy over the temple rooftop, watching two souls step closer to the fate that had always belonged to them.
Hatim stood still, his eyes gentle but burning.
Sana’s veil fluttered softly in the wind.
> “Let me see you,” he said, voice trembling not with desire, but devotion.
“Let me know the face that’s haunted my dreams.”
Sana hesitated.
> “Not like this,” she whispered. “I’ve kept this veil not because I’m hiding… but because I’m healing.”
“My truth… will be yours. But when I give it, I want to give it completely.”
Hatim stepped closer.
“I understand,” he said softly. “But tonight... let me try something.”
His hand reached for the edge of her veil.
> “I will not open my eyes,” he promised. “But I want to kiss you knowing… I’ve touched something only meant for me.”
Sana’s breath caught.
She nodded once.
With closed eyes, Hatim lifted the veil—tender, careful, almost sacred.
Sana trembled.
And then he kissed her.
Not with hunger.
But with the reverence of a man who had found his religion in her existence.
Time fell silent.
Even the stars seemed to blink slower, watching.
When he pulled back, his eyes were still shut.
He lowered the veil gently, brushing her cheek by accident, as if memorizing her through touch alone.
Only then did he open his eyes.
Their foreheads touched.
> “On the night we are bound,” he whispered, “you will show me who you are. Not because you must—but because you want to. And until then, I’ll wait... in the dark. With love.”
---
?? Author’s Note
OKAY besties... THIS WAS NOT JUST A KISS ?? this was poetry, destiny, divine soulbond unlock mode ?? The fact that Hatim kissed her with his EYES CLOSED???? My standards are in heaven now.
And Sana??? Our queen of softness and strength??? This girl is rising like a quiet storm. ????
Chapter 14 is about to hit different... I hope y’all are READY ??
Love you sm for being here ???